Prince Charles' public funding costs drop by half

OFFICIAL accounts have revealed that public funding for Prince Charles has fallen by almost half, falling from £2.2m to £1.2m in a year.

Prince Charles' taxpayer bill had dropped by half, according to reports (WENN)

The dramatic fall has been largely due to foreign countries footing the bill for any overseas visits, which worked out at over 58,000 miles of travelling to and from official engagements.

"In 2012-13, the Prince of Wales undertook a total of 657 official engagements, of which 154 were overseas, and the Duchess of Cornwall undertook 277 engagements, of which 122 were overseas," the prince's annual report said.

It was also revealed that the Prince's private income from the Duchy of Cornwall - the landed estate given to the heir to the throne to provide him or her with an income - went up by 4% to just over £19m but official have said that more than half of his after-tax income is spent on official and charitable duties.

The Prince allocated £11m to "official expenditure" and £2.5m to "non-official expenditure", while also paying £4.4m in tax.

Charles has over 148 employees, including chefs, valets and gardeners at an annual cost of £6.3m.

The fall was revealed yesterday, the day after it was announced that the bill for renovating a Kensington Palace apartment for Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge has cost the tax payer £1million.

The rooms, constructed to designs by Sir Christopher Wren, were once home to Princess Margaret until she died in 2002 and £600,000 has been spent on internal refurbishments, with much of the funds used to remove asbestos.

The reports revealed that it has cost £1m to renovate a Kensington apartment for Kate and Will

The Queen is set to receive a 5 percent pay rise (WENN)

The home will be the royal couple's London base after the birth of their baby next month, with them expected to move in during the autumn.

It was revealed that a further £400,000 was spent on repairing and renewing the apartment's roof, but the cost of decorating the rooms, which could be substantial, will be met privately and not at the taxpayers' expense.

It was also revealed that the Queen is set to receive a pay rise of five percent, giving her an annual income of £37,9million.

Palace official admitted that the timing of the announcement was not "ideal" but insisted that the country still boasts a "value for money monarchy" that costs each person in the country just 52.5p per year.